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Rodolfo Borrell
Rodolfo Borrell Marco (born 31 January 1971) is a Spanish youth coach, who was the Head of Academy Coaching at Liverpool. He has previously had a two-year spell as head coach of the Liverpool Under 18s and an eighteen-month stint in charge of the Reserve sides. Recruited in the summer of 2009 by Rafael Benitez, he and compatriot Jose Segura helped revolutionise Liverpool's ailing Academy. Having failed to provide the senior side with a notable player since Steven Gerrard in 1998, the Academy has produced numerous exciting talents since Borrell's appointment, including such players as Andre Wisdom, Raheem Sterling and Suso. Under 18s Coach In July 2009, Liverpool agreed a deal to bring in renowned Barcelona youth coaches Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura to the club. In the mid-late 2000s, first team coach Rafael Benitez made it a priority of his to improve the club's academy, as it had failed to provide the first team with a key player since Steven Gerrard who made his debut in 1998. Borrell agreed a deal to take charge of the under 18s in place of Hughie McAuley. During Borrell's tenure, there was a rapid improvement in the team's performances in the Premier Academy League and FA Youth Cup. In his first season in charge, the team finished 4th as part of a congested mid-table in Premier Academy League Group C, and finished only in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup, being knocked out by Watford. However, during his second season in charge, he led the team to an impressive 2nd placed finish in the Premier Academy League, losing out to Champions Everton by a single point- despite seeing his youngsters net 18 more goals than their cross-city rivals. He also led the team to the quarter-finals in the Youth Cup, being knocked out after a hard-fought tie with Manchester United. Liverpool's Academy began to garner a great deal of attention during this season, and there was a sense of optimism at the talents being developed under Borrell's charge, most notably Raheem Sterling, Jon Flanagan, Jack Robinson, Adam Morgan and Conor Coady- who Borrell had named the under 18s captain during both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 Under-18s seasons. Reserve Team Coach In May 2011, as part of an extensive restructuring of the academy, Borrell was promoted to Reserve team coach with Mike Marsh replacing Borrell as coach of the under 18s. The move enabled Borrell to continue to oversee the development of the crop of youngsters he had coached at under-18 level, most of whom became too old for the side and played more regularly for the Reserves in the 2011-12 season. Of his new role, Borrell said: "It's a great honour for me. The club have shown they have great confidence in my ability and I am happy. It is a job that means my name will sit forever alongside the likes of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Roy Evans, Phil Thompson and Sammy Lee. They are big names in Liverpool's history and it is also an important role because it is the final step in the Academy. The players need to be ready if they are to make the move into the first-team set-up and I am going to fight for that." In addition to his role as reserve team manager, Borrell coached the under-19 side that took part in the inaugural 2011-12 NextGen Series. Most of the squad that played in this competition were the Reserve team players that Borrell had also coached during his time with the under-18s. During the tournament, the Reds impressed in group stage games against Molde and held German side Wolfsburg to a draw, however they were heavily beaten by Sporting Lisbon 3-0 at home and 5-1 away. This was however enough to see the team qualify for the quarter finals as runners up, where they were drawn away to Tottenham. Borrell's team gave Spurs a very good game, but were unfortunate losers, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat. On 3 February however, Tottenham withdrew from the competition for a breach of tournament rules and so Liverpool were permitted entry into the semi-finals. Liverpool were drawn at home to Ajax in the semi-finals, however the Dutch team completely outplayed their English opponents, putting six goals past Borrell's charge without reply. Borrell described the result as "a disaster," and claimed it was "the worst day of my his life in sport... the worst day in my career by a mile." The tournament did end on a positive note for Borrell however, as he saw his side seal a consolation 2-0 victory over Marseille to claim third place in the tournament. Domestically, Borrell coached the Reserves to an impressive 2nd place finish in the Premier Reserve League North, and he was also able to see one of the youngsters he had coached from Under 18 level- Raheem Sterling make his breakthrough into the first team. For the 2012-13 season, the Reserves largely competed as the Liverpool Under 21s due to a national restructuring of the Reserve leagues. Borrell continued to coach the side in it's new guise, and again led an Under 19 side out in the NextGen Series. Under Borrell, Liverpool's Under 21 side flourished, and with 10 league games played were the last remaining unbeaten Under 21 side in the country when in November 2012, Borrell was promoted to the position of Head of Academy Coaching and was replaced as manager of the Reserve sides by Alex Inglethorpe. On 22 November 2013, it was confirmed to the shock of many Liverpool fans that Borrell had left the club alongside Academy director Frank McParland. Upon leaving, he wrote the following message to the fans: "I knew before I arrived that Liverpool FC was a very special club," said Rodolfo. "I have now seen that this is an understatement. I have enjoyed every moment in this wonderfully strong and independent city and my heartfelt gratitude goes to all of the players and staff that I've had the privilege of working with. I'd like to say a special thank-you to the club's supporters. Things change at football clubs all the time. This is part of the game. There are exciting times to come for Liverpool supporters and I'd like to wish Brendan, his staff, and the players, all the best for the future. YNWA." Coaching Stats Under-18s Reserves Borrell